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Question for Manual Bronco owners on GOAT

AZshot

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I'm excited to have a build date on my Big Bend 2.3L Manual. I've been following as people finally start getting their Broncos, but not seeing much on the GOAT modes in manuals. I want to know how much effect the GOAT modes make with a stick, can an actual USER give their impressions? We've had a year of guesses and conjecture....now we have people that are using them....What to the modes do for you?

I've heard, for example from one user, that the throttle response is better in Sport mode. I'm just wondering if the GOAT modes are really going to be used by me, with a stick, other than maybe Eco and Sport.
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RagnarKon

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Iā€™ve driven a 2.3L Big Bend manual and a 2.7L Wildtrak. Both were test drivesā€¦ so Iā€™m really hoping youā€™ll get a response from an actual owner who has spent more time with it than I have. (I also have a manual on order.)

The Sport mode, as far as I could tell, didnā€™t do anything on the Big Bend. Zero difference.

On the Wildtrak, Baja mode (which seems to be the BL/WT version of Sport mode) completely changed how the vehicle acted. Turbo seemed to spin up faster, transmission shifted higher in the RPM range, throttle felt way more responsive, and it even felt like the steering became more responsive. The biggest impact was how the transmission behaves, which obviously on the manual transmission is a non-factor.

My worry as a 2.3L owner is that Sport mode actually is changing how the turbo and engine behaves, but because Bronco is a fairly heavy vehicle you donā€™t really notice on the smaller 2.3L engine.

My dealer should have a 2.3L Big Bend automatic coming in the next week or soā€¦ hoping I can test drive that to get more of a feel for how the 2.3L behaves. But yeah, hoping some actual owners will respond.
 

iamchewby

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It will still have the same effects, minus the shift points. So fuel and throttle mapping if applicable, steering weight, 4x4, lockers, all that stuff will still be tuned for the particular GOAT mode but you'll be in charge of the transmission.
 

SnowBronco

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So far I've tried out Mud and ruts a couple times and crawl gear a bunch... Hill decent assist just to try it out and yesterday I used Eco mode for the first time... So far the 2 I've used make a difference. A bit harder to tell on the mud and ruts as I was just bombing around anyways, I should have probably started in normal mode then switched to see a more substantial difference?! Lol ... But the eco mode if you switch will just cruising you'll notice an immediate change in the driving. It seems to work pretty good. Not peppy at all tho... Lol

Crawl gear works pretty good in 4hi, gets you going on something steep that would bog out 1st gear .. 4low you have to get used to... You can't take off like you would in a reg gear.. haha
 
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AZshot

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This is an old chart, but if it's true, everything that is not lined out by me will still be activated/deactivated in GOAT. Based on my BB 7 speed with a locking rear diff. Not sure why this chart shows 2H and 4A only (no 4L), but probably it was built for a higher end version.

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BaseBD

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I have a 4 Door BD with the manual. Throttle response is definitely better in sport mode. It also feels like you start building boost sooner in sport mode. I haven't driven hard yet, almost to 1000 miles. But in just running it up to 3500rpm it appears there is a significant difference.

I haven't had a chance to go off road yet. I do have some big undulations and dips in a drainage ditch my yard. I did some driving on those. I needed 4wd and my rear locker to crawl through it. One drawback I noticed is if you use rock crawl mode to get to 4L and have your rear locker engage, you can't switch from 4L to 4H or 2WD without changing modes on the dial. It was easier to add options as i needed them and then manually scale back the additional needs (4L, Locker) then to deal with the dial. Maybe it will be easier in longer trail conditions.
 

iamchewby

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This is an old chart, but if it's true, everything that is not lined out by me will still be activated/deactivated in GOAT. Based on my BB 7 speed with a locking rear diff. Not sure why this chart shows 2H and 4A only (no 4L), but probably it was built for a higher end version.

Ford Bronco Question for Manual Bronco owners on GOAT 1630687489861
I wonder if you can use forscan to "open" the exhaust all the time. Just because I'm in 'normal' doesn't mean I don't want a little noise.
 

MaverickMan

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I wonder if you can use forscan to "open" the exhaust all the time. Just because I'm in 'normal' doesn't mean I don't want a little noise.
I'm sure you could just do that manually. Whatever system is under there to change the sound just set it to open and unplug it or jumper wire it?
 

Lakelife36

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I have a 4 Door BD with the manual. Throttle response is definitely better in sport mode. It also feels like you start building boost sooner in sport mode. I haven't driven hard yet, almost to 1000 miles. But in just running it up to 3500rpm it appears there is a significant difference.

I haven't had a chance to go off road yet. I do have some big undulations and dips in a drainage ditch my yard. I did some driving on those. I needed 4wd and my rear locker to crawl through it. One drawback I noticed is if you use rock crawl mode to get to 4L and have your rear locker engage, you can't switch from 4L to 4H or 2WD without changing modes on the dial. It was easier to add options as i needed them and then manually scale back the additional needs (4L, Locker) then to deal with the dial. Maybe it will be easier in longer trail conditions.
Great point. I'm sure with a bit of playing around everyone will come up with their own mapping for changing driving conditions based on their vehicle. In some cases you may find it faster to turn the dial and in others it may make sense to hit a 4wd button or a hero switch. The auto drivers may not appreciate the self-actualization this brings but manual drivers will.
 

Lcubed

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This is an old chart, but if it's true, everything that is not lined out by me will still be activated/deactivated in GOAT. Based on my BB 7 speed with a locking rear diff. Not sure why this chart shows 2H and 4A only (no 4L), but probably it was built for a higher end version.

Ford Bronco Question for Manual Bronco owners on GOAT 1630687489861
Bronco GOAT doesn't have active exhausts, so red line the exhaust column as well.
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